# Project 2731 — High Energy Laser Counter ASCM Project (HELCAP)

**Program element:** 0603925N — Directed Energy and Electric Weapon System  
**Project:** 2731  
**Component:** U.S. Navy  
**Appropriation:** 1319 — RDT&E, Navy  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603925N/2731  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603925N

## Summary

Project 2731 — High Energy Laser Counter ASCM Project (HELCAP) requests $15.0M in FY2027, 16% of the $94.8M requested for program element 0603925N — a restart: funded in FY2025, zeroed in FY2026, funded again now. 2 R-2A activities decompose the request, 1 new this cycle. nLight Defense Systems is the largest named R-3 performer at $4.0M, 27% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

**Markets:** Directed Energy — matched on the project title only, and no market size is quoted.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 4.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 0.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 15.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 5.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 4.0 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 2.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 1.9 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0603925N; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 2731 buys

The High Energy Laser Counter-ASCM Project (HELCAP) will accelerate the integration of High Energy Laser (HEL) technologies and prototype HEL weapon systems through demonstrations of critical technologies integral to defeating Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) targets with non-kinetic weapon systems. HELCAP has developed a High Energy Laser (HEL) source capable of ASCM defeat while also enabling target acquisition, identification, and atmospheric correction abilities through advanced beam control subsystem maturation. The Directed Energy Testing Against Missiles (DETAM) effort will utilize the Laser Weapon Testbed (LWT) and other Directed Energy (DE) assets to initiate a Test & Evaluation (T&E) campaign focused on transitioning Naval HEL technologies to operational use by evaluating them in a realistic operating environment. DETAM will promote advanced laser component development while testing prototype weapon systems against surrogate ASCMs and advanced operational threats to ensure rapid integration of HEL weapon systems with the Naval Fleet.

**R-3 lines of work:** Product Development; Support; Test and Evaluation; Management Services.

## Named R-3 performers

| Performer | $M | Share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total |
|---|---|---|
| nLight Defense Systems | 4.0 | 27% |
| NAWC WD | 0.5 | 3.3% |
| NAWC WD/San Nicholas | 0.5 | 3.3% |

> Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations. Shares need not reach 100% — unnamed and government work is in the denominator.

## Activities (R-2A) — 2

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Directed Energy Testing Against Missiles (DETAM) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 15.0 | new | [a1](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603925N/2731/a1) |
| High Energy Laser Counter ASCM Project (HELCAP) | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — |

> Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. In the request year they partition this project exactly; in earlier years they can under-cover it.

### Directed Energy Testing Against Missiles (DETAM) — NEW START

- Initiate comprehensive testing of laser beam control systems for Directed Energy assets. - Initiate mission-relevant Laser Weapon System (LWS) upgrades through data-driven technology insertions. - Initiate a surrogate Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) target program for LWS lethality assessments.

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603925N/2731/a1

## What is NOT on this page

Congressional marks, the R-2 mission description and acquisition strategy, the industry vs government split of the whole request, and related program elements are recorded at **program-element** grain — an NDAA mark lands on a PE, never on a project. They are at https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603925N.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0603925N project 2731 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603925N")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*